Merchandise stand



Sept. 16, 1952 w. BEDINGFIELD n 2,610,817

MERCHANDISE s'TANn Filed July 2o, 1949 f Ji F1a 1. (J0 V... M 1 1| 6 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 16, 1952 f OFFICE MERCHANDISE STAND william Bedingfield, New mchmcna, ohioy ,v Application July 20, 1949, Serial No. 105,709 y l 1 y i y My invention has to do with a merchandise stand suitable for clamping engagementtol the top of a cash register, counter or other support. T he stand isdesigned primarily for cartons of cigarettes, although it should be understood from the outset that the device may be used for numerous other purposes.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a stand which will place the merchandise in a readily accessible position, so that a cashier in a restaurant, bar or the like need not leave the cash register to obtain the merchandise. Items such as cigarettes and chewing gum, for example, are frequently requested by customers when leaving a restaurant, where thel price of the item may be taken from the changeL received fromthe dinner check. In restaurants it is customary to keep cigarettes and chewing gum either in a counter upon which the cash register is located, or else-keep them in a wall cabinet back of the cashiers station. With either of these arrangements, however, it is necessary for the cashier to leave his station to obtain` the pack of cigarettes or the chewing gum, and this not only consumes time but also leaves the cash register unattended. While the time consumed in obtaining each item may be small and only amounts to a few seconds, .Whenmultiplied by thenumber of packs of cigarettes purchased each day or over a period of days; thetime mounts up into many minutes and even hours. By meansv of my invention the merchandise is placed where it may be easily reached by the cashierwithout stooping orturning away from the cash register. This is of great conveniencey particularly during rush hours.

Itis a further object of my invention to provide a stand which may be easily attached to the tcp of any cash register regardless of its size, or to other supports of varying dimensions, the attachment being accomplished by means of a clamping leg and cooperating gripping members.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a merchandise stand having a clamping leg to which spring means are connected whereby the stand maybe placed in clamping engagement with asupport.

, It is a further object of my invention to provide means whereby the merchandise stand may be positioned on any flat surface should it be desired to use the stand other than in clamping engagement with a support.

`These and other objects of my invention which .willvbe s et forth hereinafter or which will become apparent upon, reading these specifications. I ac- .QQmPlShz-by thatf constructionl and arrangement 1 claim. (ci. 24a-199)- V register.`

, 2 v 4 of parts of which I shall now describe certain exemplary embodiments.

Reference is made to thev accompanying draw.- ings wherein: f

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred form of my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view taken along the line 2--2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a close-up view showing one of the adjustable gripping members by which the front or body portion of the stand is maintained.

Figure 4 is an elevational view showing the stand as it would beA attached to the top of a, cash Figure 5 e yfor -usewhen the display stand is tobe placed onaflat surface. g f

Figure 6 is a partial front elevational view foi.' a, modified-form of my invention. 1

Figure 7 is a'sideelevational view taken along the line 1-1 of Figure 6. 4

Figure 8 is a partial frontelevation of still another modiilcation of my invention.

Figure 9 is a side elevation taken along the line 9-'-B of Figure 8. f y

Briey, in the practice of my invention I provide a body portion for the retention of the merchandise.y The body portion may take the form of a frame ycomprising a Aplurality of rods or tubular members arranged to support the merchandise or, alternatively, it may take the form of a sheetmetal tray. If desired, the frame or tray may be provided with a plurality of spaced members to divide the body into a nume ber of individual compartments. Connected to the body of the stand at a. point intermediate its ends is a clamping leg carrying near its free end a short angularly related foot which, with the portion of the legv lying belowthe foot, forms a gripping member. 'The lower part of the body of the stand is provided with one or more gripping members having angularly related parts which cooperate with the clamping leg to clamp the standtoa support, which may be the top of a cash register. In order to secure the, desired clamping action, a spring member is provided to draw the leg toward the body of the stand. -The stand isA attached to a cash register by engaging the angularly related parts of the gripping members attached to the body of the stand to an edge of the cash register whereupon the leg is extended against the tension of the spring' member until ity canhbe engaged with an opposite edge of the cashA register.l If'rit-isdesired to use-the stand Eon; anat-surface; a spacer baris provided to hold is a perspective View oi' a spacer bar the leg in substantially extended position thus providing the frame with a solid foundation.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the body portion of the stand comprises the spaced vertical members I and 2 joined at their bottoms by the horizontal base member 3. Extending rearwardly from the tops of the vertical members I and 2 are the short, rearwardly extending members 4 and 5, the ends of which are connected by an upper horizontal member 8. Near the lowermost ends of the vertical members I and 2 are placed a complementary pair of short rearwardly extending members 1 and 8 connected at their outermost ends by the lower horizontal member 9.

By means of the upper horizontal,

member 6, the lower horizontal member 9 and the base member 3, a plurality of cigarette cartons I0 may be placed upright on the stand with their lower ends resting on the base member 3 and their rear walls supported by the horizontal members 6 and 9.

The members just described may be formed separately and welded or otherwise joined together as a frame or they may be bent from a single length of stock and suitably welded at the point where the ends of the stock meet. The stock may be either hollow tubing or solid wire. The diameter of the tubing or wire will oi' course vary with the strength characteristics desired'to be imparted to the finished structure, Vand neither the nature of the material nor its size are'intended to be limitations upon my invention.

The size of the frame itself may vary4 widely and will be governed by the use to4 which `it is to vbe put. If desired. however, the sizeof the frame may be made adjustable by forming each of the members in two parts withoneof the parts telescoping within the other, as will be readily understood by one skilled inthe art.

The frame just described is supported by means of a clamping leg II pivotallyconnected at I2 to the bracket I3 which is welded or otherwise secured centrally of theupper horizontal member 6. Nearthe bottom of the leg Il a foot or extension I4 extends inwardly ashort distance, and as will be seen more clearly hereinafter serves to engage the topedge ofthe cash register or other support. The foot I4 may be providedwith a sleeve I5 of rubber or other suitable material to provide a positive gripping surface and also to prevent scratching of thesurface contactedby the foot. The leg jIVI may be provided with a crutch tip I6 for the same purposes.

A pair of adjustable gripping members I1 and I8 are slidably connected to the lower horizontal member 9. These gripping members coact Awith the leg I I to clamp the standto the support. The clamping action is obtained by -means of the helical spring I9 connected between the leg II.v and a bracket extending upwardly from the'lower horizontal member 9. While Ihave illustrated a tension spring, it will be understood that other spring means could be employed, as for 'example a torsional spring connected to 'the' upper end of the leg I I and thebracket I3.

In Figure 3, I have shown in detail the construction of the adjustable gripping 'membera which may be either the member I1 orthe member I8. The gripping members are preferably formed from a strip of sheet metal bent to provide a base portion 2| and angularly related parts 22 and 23, the latterportions"being-con- Avnected by 'the loop 24 Apassing around-the horizontal member 9. The loop loosely Aengages 4 the horizontal member 9 and permits the gripping member to slide along the member 9. The under side of the base portion 2I and the angularly related parts 22 and 23 may be covered with a strip 25 of rubber or other cushioning material. The free end of the base portion 2| is curved upwardly as at 26 for snap engagement with the base member 3. The curved portion 28 terminates in an outwardly extending flange 2l which facilitates adjustment of the gripping member. When it is desired to adjust the position oi.' the gripping member relative to the horizontal bar 9, the flange 21 is pushed downwardly thereby disconnecting the curved portion 26 from the -horizontal rod -3 and permitting the gripping member to be moved axially of the horizontal member 9.' The gripping member is shown in disengaged position in dotted lines in Figure 3. By sliding the gripping members axially along the horizontal member 9, their position relative to the object to which they are to be attached may be adjusted to the most advantageous point. The adjustable feature is particularly useful in cases wherein the support to which the stand is Ato be attached is curved through at least a, part of its length.

In Figure 4 the stand is shown attached to the top of a cash register. It will be noted that the angularly related parts 22 and 23 o! the gripping member I8 engage one edge of the cash register while the lower end of the leg II and the foot I4 engage the opposite edge. The tension spring I9 serves to clamp the members firmly in place on the register.

A detachable spacer bar 28 slotted as at 29 and 3D (see Figure 5) may be provided i1' it is desired to use the stand on a flat surface. The'spacer bar extends between the bracket 28 and the leg II with the slot 29 engaging the bracket 20 and the slot 38 engaging the leg I I, substantially as shown in Figure 2. When in this condition the stand will rest on the base portions 2I of the grippingfmembers and the free end of the leg II. The cushioning material 25 and the crutch tip I6 will prevent the stand from sliding. It will be apparent, that the spacer bar 28 may be removed when the devicefis tobe clamped on the top of the cash register in the manner indicated in Figure 4.

In Figures 6 and 7 I have shown a modification of my invention. For simplicity in describing this modification, parts corresponding to the parts already described in connection with Figures 1 to 5 are given likevreference numerals. 'I'he modication shown in Figures 6 and 7 comprises the use of fixed gripping members in place of the adjustable gripping members Il and-I8. The fixed gripping members are formed by providing a plurality of angularly related pairs of extensions 3| and 32 extending downwardly and outwardly respectively Valong the horizontal member 9, substantially as shown in the drawings. The extensions may be covered with the sleeves 33 and 34 of rubber or other cushioning material. The extensions 3l and 32 will grip the Yregister in substantially the same fashion as the adjustable gripping members I1 and I8, but, of course, they can not be adjusted. However, it; will be noted that when the stand is used on a flat surface,ithe extensions will not reach the flat surface, andthe stand will rest on the lower horizontalmember 3 which may be cushioned if desired. Furthermore, it will be noted in-Figurel thatthe tension-spring I9is connected directly to the horifzcntal" member 8,5thebracket; 20 having been eliminated. With this arrangement it is necessary to twist the spacer bar 28a so that one end is at substantially a right angle to the other. This permits the slot at one end to engage the horizontal member 9 while the slot at the other end engages the leg I I which is substantially vertical.

If desired, the body of the stand may be divided into a plurality of compartments by means of the spaced dividing members 35, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. The dividing members illustrated are formed from tubing or wire and may or may not be of the same diameter as the frame members. The lower ends of the members are Welded or otherwise attached to the base member 3 and the upper ends are bent rearwardly as at 3E (see Figure 7) and attached to the upper horizontal member 6. The dividing members may alternatively take the form of channel bars arranged in opposed relation to provide trackways in which the merchandise may be placed or they may be formed from sheet stock and the like.

Still another modification of my invention is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, wherein a sheet metal tray has been substituted for theframe of the preceding embodiments. The sheet metal tray comprises a rear wall 31, side walls 38 and a bottom wall 39. The bracket I3 for the leg Il may be attached directly to the rear wail 31. In this embodiment the gripping member for the body or tray comprises an angle bar 40 extending longitudinally of the tray and provided with a pad 4I. A pad 42 may be provided on the under side of the bottom wall 39, if desired.

A panel 43 extending across the tray at its bottom may be provided to retain the packages I0 within the tray. This panel also affords a convenient member upon which to place advertising indicia. In addition to the panel 43, the tray maybe provided with a plurality of dividing members, as will be understood. The mode of attachment of the tray-like structure will be identical with that of the preceding embodiments, as is apparent from the drawings.

I have described my invention in several exemplary embodiments in which the stands are attached to the top of a cash register; but it is with the spirit of my invention to attach the stands to other supporting structures, as for example the top of show cases, counters and the like. While the exemplary embodiments are indicative of a large field of utility for my invention, they do not by any means exhaust its utility, and devices responding to my invention are useful in many other fields.

6 Other modifications maybe made in my invention without departing vfrom the spirit of it. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a merchandise stand for upright attachment to a support, a wire frame comprising a pair of spaced vertical members connected together at their bottoms by a horizontal base member, an upper horizontal member rearwardly disposed with respectto said vertical members and connected to the upper ends of said vertical members, and a lower horizontal member rearwardly displaced with respect to said vertical members and connected to said Vertical members intermediate their ends, a supporting leg pivotally connected to said upper horizontal member, said supporting leg carrying near its free end a short angularly related foot, said foot and the portion of the leg extending therebelow forming a gripping element, gripping members slidably connected to said lower horizontal member, said gripping members each having an angularly related portion for gripping engagement with an edge of the support and a fiat bottom portion extending forwardly for contact with said base member, said iiat bottom portion terminating in a curved portion for snap engagement with said base member.

WILLIAM BEDINGFIEID.

REFERENCES orrED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

